ARF to continue activities against Armeno-Turkish Protocols

PanARMENIAN.Net - The verdict of Armenian Constitutional Court over the Armenian-Turkish Protocols enables and forces Armenia to act  further  in accordance with the decision, Vahan Hovhannisyan , ARF (Dashnaktsutyun) parliamentary group leader told a press conference in Yerevan.

He stressed, that  Protocols' articles on the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening of Armenia-Turkey border need to be clarified by the Constitutional Court. "For the development of further relations between the two countries new agreements should be signed and pass all relevant procedures in the country," Vahan Hovhannisyan said.



He is not satisfied with the explanation of the Armenian Constitutional Court, he said, although appreciates  that the court accepted all the arguments presented ARFD . "We have sufficient pre-requisites for further work in this direction," Hovannisyan said.



Protocols on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations have been signed on October 10, 2009 in Zurich by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu in the presence of the foreign ministers of France, the United States, Russia and Switzerland after   a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation since 2007. According to the Protocols, diplomatic relations should be established between the two countries and the mutual border, closed by Turkey since 1993, should be opened. On January 12, 2010 Armenian Constitutional Court acknowledged the constituency of the Protocols.



The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARFD) is one of the oldest Armenian political parties, founded in 1890 in Tiflis by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian. Between 1918-1920 Dashnaktsutyun was the ruling party in the Republic of Armenia. As a result of the Soviet invasion Dashnak government suspended its activities. During the Soviet terror a great number of Dashnak officers were executed, some emigrated. In 1988, the party returned to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. At present, ARF Dashnaktsutyun has offices in many countries wourlwide.  In 1994, the party's activities in Armenia was banned by the President Levon Ter-Petrossian's decree, several members were arrested. In 1998, a decree was repealed by the newly-elected President Robert Kocharyan. To date, the party belongs to the opposition.  The party's program remains unchanged: creation of a united, free and independent Armenia within the boundaries established by the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920.